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Android won't kill sideloading after all, but new verification rules will make it harder
(www.techspot.com)
this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026
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Do you use Fdroid or simply get apks online, like we all used to before these walled gardens?
Neither ! I use Obtainium, which allows you to get apps directly from the source, with the convenience of a normal app store for updating !
I usually look for apps on droid-ify, which is an alternative front end to f-droid, then whenever possible I copy the link of the source repo and install via Obtainium ; when I can't I install the f-droid version via Obtainium as well (as a result, I have 0 apps installed by droid-ify, I only use it for search)
When I need an App Store exclusive app, I install it via Aurora Store (which downloads apps via shared anonymous accounts)
The only thing this system can't get around is paid apps from the App Store. I have exactly one : Cookie Clicker. (I like the game in general so I paid to support the dev)
I use fdroid whenever possible, but I do use Google Play for most everything else. I do have a few apps that I install via APK, but built-in updaters are so uncommon on Android apps that it's kind of a pain to maintain.
Obtainium can solve that. It will check websites for updates and then download the new apk and install it. I use it more than fdroid now, can get apk straight from the developers github repo usually.
Interesting, I'll have to play around with that.